Tempting Death
by xRedxMoonx
Summary: Due to her illness, Rena Aeren isn't allowed to leave the building she's been living for the past year. Nevertheless, when a new threat appears, she's called by Commander Erwin to help them to get rid of the problem, resuming her position as Corporal.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello~ This is my first Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan) fic. It's a Levi x OC one, just because I find this character the most interesting out of all of them. He's serious and professional most of the time, but his obsession with cleaning everything and the sarcasm he uses to tease Hanji is one of the most funny things this show has. **

**Let me know what you think of this story, although this is a short prologue of what will happen next!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin or any of its characters. However, I do own the OC's and the plot.**

* * *

Sunlight seeped through the window and reached the bed she was lying on, caressing her pale skin and tickling it with its warmth. Brown eyes opened slowly, feeling the presence of someone watching her every movement. Raising her head towards the opened door in front of her, a smirk crept on her face when she saw Hanji standing there.

"Never thought you would come this early in the morning." The young woman commented casually, her voice sounding as calm as always. However, by the look on the red-haired Corporal, there was an important reason to explain her visit. Sighing, she lifted her body before leaning back against the headboard. "Stop standing there like a klutz; just come in and close the door."

Her brown eyes never left Hanji as she followed her instructions and walked over the bed. The Corporal sat on the edge of it, staring ahead with a serious look spread on her features.

After giving her a minute of silence, an exasperated sigh escaped from Rena's lips.

"Just let it out, Hanji." She crossed her arms over her chest, shifting to a more comfortable position. "What the hell happened now?"

"Ryan and Ginny were killed tonight." The words came out in an almost inaudible whisper, a hint of desolation staining it.

Rena was shocked. Not because of the love her best friend gave to the Titans, but because there weren't many people who had the courage to confront Hanji's orders. And Rena knew for a matter of fact that the first instruction she had given was to not touch her 'precious' captives.

The woman drove her gaze towards the window next to her, not really focusing on the powerful rays of the sun that came through it and attempted to burn her eyes.

"Did you catch the culprit?" Her voice was monotone, her thoughts driving outside the building and flying towards the blue sky, where they could feel the freedom engulf them.

"No," Hanji responded with a grunt, tears threatening to flow from her eyes. She let her head fall backwards before she took a deep breath. "but it's obvious it's been someone with access to the field."

"Then it won't be so difficult to find out." A sarcastic laugh echoed through the entire room, causing Rena to drift her brown eyes towards her friend, an eyebrow arched in wonder.

"The thing is that almost all the Recon Corps had permission to see my friends."

Rena mentally face palmed herself. She knew how the brown-haired woman liked to show her Titan to people. However, even knowing she didn't seem to be on her mind most of the time, Hanji really enjoyed her job and she dedicated herself to it. More than she actually had to, though.

"But I can't worry about it today." The woman scratched the back of her neck with a grin plastered on her face.

"Are you going outside the Walls?" Curiosity graced Rena's voice.

Silence fell upon both women, an awkward one; like it was something Hanji wasn't telling her. Realization hit her after two minutes of staring into her serious eyes and her voice came out in an incredulous whisper.

"Erwen wants me to come along." It wasn't a question and, when Hanji didn't respond, Rena couldn't help but laugh. "Are you kidding? What's he playing at? I thought it was him the one who told me not to strive so much." Her expression hardened. "That's why I've been stuck into this fucking building for almost a whole year. They even locked me in when the incident of Wall Maria happened!"

Hanji looked over at her, a slight frown formed on her face as she studied the young woman.

"That's because he was worried about your safety, we didn't want more unnecessary deaths-"

Rena laughed sarcastically once again, interrupting the Corporal.

"Unnecessary?" She snorted, getting angrier by seconds. "He did that just because he didn't want me in his way. He thought I couldn't bring myself to fight the Titans. He still does." She muttered the last sentence to herself.

Rena was annoyed with the Commander for putting her in a situation like this. He was aware of her abilities killing Titans, but since _that _happened she'd been treated like she couldn't stand without help.

"You don't have to do it if you don't want to, Rena." Although she said that, both knew she couldn't ignore an order from a superior.

Nevertheless, when the red-haired woman thought intensely about the opportunity, she grinned. Happiness seemed to be glowing inside her; something that wasn't strange due to her situation. All she could think was how blue was the sky that day, and how much she wanted to feel the breeze caressing her skin after all those months without stepping outside.

"I want to go, Hanji." She winked at her friend, whose face brightened at her positivism. "I also want to meet that Rivaille guy you complain so much about."

Hanji stood up and sent her a smile before she turned on her heels, facing the closed-door.

"Although you don't know, there are a lot of people waiting impatiently to meet you."

A small smile crept on her face at the thought.

"Didn't I tell you?" Hanji glanced at her from the corner of her eye. "There's a team already under your command."

Rena's eyes widened slightly at the unexpected news before she scratched the back of her neck thoughtfully; it had been so much since her last excursion but she was more concerned about the experience her new team would have than about confronting a Titan. Her bare feet touched the cold floor, making the skin shiver slightly, and she stood up.

"I'll wait for you at the front doors," Hanji left her changing, but not without addressing her like the old times.

"Corporal."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I won't be able to update till December, but do not worry because next chapter will be up before you know.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin. -sigh-**

* * *

_Chapter Two:_

_Now I'm speechless, over the edge; I'm just breathless._

* * *

The door opened slowly with a crack, allowing the sunlight to slip through the small slot and a soft gust of wind to sneak in and caress lightly her sensitive skin. With one last look at the inside of the building she had been forced to call home (even though she didn't actually feel like home), Rena locked her gaze ahead and walked out. As soon as she stepped out, the intense rays of the sun pierced mercilessly her pale skin, carving noticeable reddish marks over her cheeks. The young woman did her best to remain unaffected, but the burning heat of the morning wasn't helping her. Not even the priceless freshness provided by the mild breeze stopped the sweat from falling down her forehead.

Hanji glanced over at her friend, an amused smirk playing on her lips and the same joyful glint gracing on her eyes.

"This is something I knew would happen." Rena muttered under her breath as she brushed some strands of her red hair that had dropped from her high ponytail and were tickling the skin of her neck.

"I can bring you a damp tissue," Rena shut her with a deep glare. "or you can swelter till death."

Hanji laughed hysterically at her own witticism, causing the short girl to roll her eyes. However, she ended up accepting the offer.

"So, what do we do now?" Rena asked as she lifted her head to the uncloak sky, the sunlight glaring back into her bright eyes. "I'm already standing against this excessive heat, but I hope we won't stay here for too much."

Hanji let out another laugh but nodded. She began to walk towards the carriage parked at the opposite side of the street that was waiting for them, but Rena had other plans. The red-haired girl headed over the pair of horses tethered to it instead of following her partner, who simply shook her head while smiling.

* * *

Eren Yaeger stood by the closed window of the room he had finally finished cleaning. His big, grayish eyes were fixed on the path of sand that headed the town. He had been told someone was about to arrive there, but he didn't really know who the person was. In fact, he had the hunch the identity of this person was unknown to all of them –not even Rivaille seemed to be aware about it. All Commander Erwin discovered was _she _belonged to the most high-ranking squads. To be honest, Eren was slightly intimidated by the lack of information but he couldn't complain about it; he didn't want to be scolded by his own Corporal –who definitely enjoyed talk down on him.

"You, are you finished cleaning this?"

And, speaking of the devil, Levi spoke emotionless behind him. His expression remained stoic as ever, but Eren could perceive the hint of disapproval that crossed his features the moment he lay his eyes on the –supposed to be- cleaned room. He clicked his tongue before placing his gaze on the younger soldier.

"Do you actually think this is cleaned?" He asked as he wandered around the room, wrinkling his nose at the sight of dust pervading the few fitments in it.

"I-"

"Levi-heichou!" Petra bounced in, panting heavily and looking at the Corporal in hurry. "She's coming."

Rivaille clicked his tongue, this time in annoyance. However, he said nothing and walked out, Petra following soon after. Eren didn't take too long to come along; he gave one last glance at the –not so cleaned- room before storming out. He just hoped the newcomer wasn't as cleaning maniac as his Corporal was.

* * *

By the time Rivaille walked out the huge building, his squad was already spread across the yard that surrounded it talking joyfully as always. Of course, Hanji stood in the middle of the commotion. Nevertheless, as soon as the short Corporal made his way towards her, the hysterical woman caught him by the arm and, ignoring the threats he was giving her, Hanji began to walk around like a madwoman.

"Rena, show yourself already!" She kept dragging Levi around, causing some of the soldiers to chuckle.

However, after wandering around for what seemed hours, the young woman came to a stop. Little did everyone know that she wasn't going to give up so easily.

"Hey, you two!" Hanji finally set him free and approached Connie and Sasha, who were watching the scene with interest and amusement. They immediately froze though, when the troubled face of the Corporal came into their view. "Have you seen a girl with a scowl on her face?!"

Silence fell upon them.

"What the hell? Is that even a description?!" Jean burst out, getting angry by the fact Hanji couldn't make a simple description of her own friend.

"I thought she was coming with you, though." Petra commented out loud, her lips pursed into a pout.

Hanji laughed loudly as if the situation was funnier than it actually was. In fact, it wasn't even entertaining.

"Well, she came with me most of the time but when we were about to arrive, I realized she wasn't there." The woman patted her chin twice before lifting her finger in the air. "I know, what about a girl with a stupid look on her face?"

"I saw her." Rivaille spoke suddenly, a hint of exasperation filling his voice. "In fact, I'm seeing her at this moment."

"Where?!"

Just when the man was about to hit the slow woman, the sound of the front door opening reached their ears and they turned towards it. Dressed on the Scouting Legions' uniform stood a short girl with a scowl on her face. She walked over to Hanji, anger gracing on her orange eyes and her red hair swinging with light movements over her shoulders.

"Rena, I-" Hanji tried to speak but she cut her off with another glare.

However, after staring at each other for a long minute, Rena's scowl turned into a dangerous smile that did nothing but send shivers down the woman's spine.

"Don't worry, Hanji." She said with a sweetness that didn't suit her at all. "Just be careful tonight; a stupid-looking woman will be sleeping in the same place as you."

Hanji laughed nervously before clearing her throat.

"Levi, this is Rena." Rena's eyes lay on the –almost shorter than her– Corporal, staring deeply into his grey ones. Neither of them expressed any emotion; they remained stoic as they examined each other openly. "Rena, this is Rivaille." Hanji said, a glint of awkwardness glowing in her voice.

The intensity of their stares didn't change for the next minutes, as if they were in trance. However, the silence that had surrounded them wouldn't continue for much and whispers began to disturb the atmosphere.

"I bet she's shorter than him." Auruo commented.

"Nah, I bet he's even shorter." Hanji, who had walked back to the group, assured.

A vein plopped on Rena's forehead as she broke the eye contact and glared at her friend over her shoulder.

"I swear Hanji, you won't live for tomorrow." She growled harshly.

Rivaille, however, kept his attention on the girl before him wondering what luck would she bring to them.

* * *

"So, Rena, why haven't I heard about you if you're a Corporal like Levi and Hanji?" Eren asked intrigued, curiosity filling his big eyes.

The living room remained silent and Rena looked up only to see all the attentions were on her. A sigh slipped between her parted lips. She wasn't going to tell them about her illness –not yet. She wasn't sure about their possible reactions, but seeing how Commander Erwin reacted, she wasn't going to let people look down on her just because some stupid disease. She was a Corporal. She wasn't going to slow the rest. And that was why she found too exaggerated Erwin's decision of not allowing her to keep working.

Suddenly, Rena felt someone plop down next to her on the fluffy couch and she glanced at Levi in curiosity finding his eyes focused on her. Leaning back against the sofa, she tried to stop the troubled expression that was attempting to spread across her face.

"I've been… busy." She found herself replying. It wasn't a real lie; she had been occupied on finding a way to break free from that prison. "But what about the excursion? I thought it was this morning?" Or that was what the infamous Hanji had told her.

Speaking of the devil, Hanji was the only one who seemed uninterested on the conversation and she was watching with absolute concentration every move Eren did. Not that he was doing a lot of odd things; he was actually sitting on the other couch doing nothing but listen.

"It's tomorrow." Levi spoke emotionless. "And the plan is as simply as always; to inspect Wall Maria and kill as much titans as possible."

Rena didn't know if he was being sarcastic or he actually thought it was an easy idea. She let her head fall over the back of the couch only to find it moving slightly under her. Cold fingers brushed lightly against the sensitive of her neck, sending sparks down her spine. She didn't need to think too much to figure out that the couch wasn't alive and that she was, in fact, leaning over Levi's arm. Rena didn't move though and neither did the Corporal beside her. She only was aware of something: his cold touch wasn't disturbing her at all. And she almost wished it did.

The rest of the squad began to talk about their own issues, ignoring completely the two Corporals. Rena, however, decided she couldn't be showing this affect towards someone she barely knew so she lifted her head, returning to her initial posture. Little did she know her sudden action wouldn't have the purpose she was expecting. Because, as soon as she raised her head from the comfortable support, his arm dropped gracefully over her shoulders.

The red-haired woman cleared her throat instinctively. It was in vane too; Rivaille didn't seem to want to do the effort of changing his posture.

"Are you listening to me, Rena?" Hanji's voice reached her ears, snapping her out from her thoughts and making her look at the smirking woman. "It's time for you to know your squad."

That woke Rena up from her trance and she stared at her friend in expectation.

"But I think you already know them." Hanji grinned as she pointed to the people around her.

Rena drifted her gaze from her to her new squad, which included Jean, Connie, Sasha and Mikasa. The last one sent her a smile while the others simply kept their stares on her.

"This is wonderful, don't you think Rena?" Hanji commented casually. "You have a squad, you're going on an excursion and…" The outline of a smirk showed on her face as she watched her every move. "...you're making new friends."

By that time, Rena had stopped listening because indeed, she was making friends with the cold yet distracting touch of Levi's fingers on her neck.


End file.
